[Anonymous]

Hi there. I have a sister, who has lived in a villa on the Costa Del Sol with her husband for many years. They purchased from a friend, who after handing them the itinery, gave them the keys. It was thought the escrutira would follow. They didnt chase it up, lost touch with the friend. In recent years , they have put the matter in the hands of Spanish solicitors who have taken thousands of euros but basically done nothing. The last one just kept sending bills, and before paying the last one, my sister asked what the position was. The solicitor was quite indignant that she should even ask, and just sent her paperwork back. No explanation, no refund, nothing. Since the last debacle, her husband has been diagnosed with terminal blood cancer and they have had to come back to England for his treatment. Her health has also deteriorated, at one time, both were in hospital with pneumonia. My sister is now a full time carer, but no one knows for how long she will be doing this obviously. All they have is tied up in the property in Spain, and they are having to rent a house meanwhile in England for health reasons, which is depleting their pensions. Does anybody know of anyone who could offer advice or provide a contact. If my sister resumes a life alone in Spain, she will not be able to remain in the villa indefinitely, as she would need to buy something smaller and easier to manage. Without an escutura, she can do nothing. I think they have so much to deal with at the moment, that they are not delving in to the problem and the cost of legal assistance has become a very tender point with them for the reasons already described. If there was an avenue to go down that anyone knows or had experience with, once my sister has to deal with it, it would make life much easier and be very much appreciated. ❓ Many thanks, Lesley

[Anonymous]

When they bought they obviously purchased & completed before a notary ? If they did then the original solicitor should have presented the escritura to the public registry office to be assigned to their names. It’s quite possible it is still their at the PR office , waiting for someone to collect & pay.

[Anonymous]

@gus-lopez wrote:

When they bought they obviously purchased & completed before a notary ? If they did then the original solicitor should have presented the escritura to the public registry office to be assigned to their names. It’s quite possible it is still their at the PR office , waiting for someone to collect & pay.

Thankyou for responding–Before they married, my sister’s husband negotiated personally with his friend, the vendor. I fear it may have been all too casual for apparently he was advised that finalising the sale would be processed in due course. I dont think he was familiar with Spanish procedures , and didnt pursue it. It is possible that being fit and much younger, the believed he would get around to do this at a later date. It is a situation where the vendor and my brother-in-law failed to keep in touch, and many years have gone by. As a family wishing to support our sister, we are obviously unhappy with the situation and her husbands poor management of his affairs, but it is too late for recriminations. My sister is devoted to caring for him, but he is gradually weakening in health and is not able to actively try to help. Time is not something he has to put it right. There seems only to be proof of paying for utilities and maintenance for many years. Do you know of any avenue open to my sister to correct this situation. Past attempts have resulted in payment of many euro’s, but nothing was achieved. I very much appreciate your response, but appreciate this may not be a situation that can be corrected. Kind regards, Lesley

[Anonymous]

If my answer is wrong then I am sure someone will jump in.

Firstly it seems legal advise in Spain comes at high price and is very poor, so I would avoid this at all cost.

The property should be registered at the Spanish land registry. Go in person and get the details of the property. I believe that from this you should be able to get details of the legal owner and then take it from there.

I think from a simple fact finding mission you can do a lot yourself. If you don’t speak Spanish try and find a young person and pay them to translate.

So if I were in a situation like you, where I spoke no Spanish and lived in the UK but needed to find out about a complex matter in Spain I would try to find a honest, intelligent young Spanish person, fly to Spain for a week and get them to help you to track down the appropriate offices and then translate for you. I am sure there are 1000’s of people that would be willing to help you for a fraction of the cost that a Spanish solicitor has already charged for doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

Lesley sorry to hear the circumstances & hope that things have moved on in terms of resolution of the issues & the health etc. Have you or did you try the Notary office where you purchased the property. Forgive me if I am late in my response.

[Author]

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